It’s been very hot down under with too many bushfires. You can smell the smoke in Melbourne. Time for a cool and calming song.

The following tutorial, given in a picturesque winter setting by Bosco of Ukulele Cheats, demonstrates how to play the beautiful To Love Somebody by the Bee Gees, with lots of playing tips. Love the way he can still play in freezing conditions without his fingers going numb.

Great to see so many members back on board last week. We had a fun session revisiting songs and trying a new one. Looking forward to Tuesday night.

On Tuesday, January 29 at 7 pm, Bayside Ukes are back at the Hampton Community Centre.

As we head into our sixth year we plan to include some new and exciting songs that will sound great on the ukulele and will enhance everyone’s playing and singing skills.

This year there will also be plenty of opportunities for those who are raring to get out and perform with the group.

We are lucky enough to have many dedicated members, some of who play more than one instrument and are happy to share their knowledge with newcomers.

To get the most out of our sessions, we recommend that absolute beginners have some lessons before joining the group. Also see our Links page for online lessons. Beginners who can already play some basic ukulele chords will benefit greatly from playing with more experienced players and should improve quickly with our help.

We are a friendly bunch so don’t be afraid to come along and join us. It’s cheaper than a pint of beer or a glass of good wine and much more fun.

For more information on our sessions see the About section in the above menu.

Getting into the rhythm of a strumming pattern is something that challenges many beginners. The following video demonstrates a useful technique using an egg shaker to improve your strumming. A shaker that fits onto one of the fingers of your playing hand would also work.

I also like to use a finger shaker when playing with a group as it adds another dimension to the overall sound. Although don’t overdo this. One or two shakers in a group are enough. You don’t want to sound like a hail storm.

Summer is in full swing in Australia as we head into 2019, with extreme heatwaves affecting much of the country. For us lucky ones down south near the coast it has not been quite so hot, but there’s a scorcher in the forecast.

What better way than to celebrate the New Year with a scorching rock song. Here’s The The Australian Ukulele Showwith a blistering version of Thunderstruck by Aussie legends AC/DC accompanied by ukulele legend, Jake Shimabukuro at the Byron Blues Fest. Talk about generating some fireworks.

Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year from Bayside Ukes and if it’s cold where you are generate your own heat with some smoking hot ukulele songs.

Bayside Ukes has finished its sessions for the year. We’ve had a great year with several performances, the most memorable being the Sandy Village Festival in October.

A big thank you to all our members for making 2018 such a wonderful, fun year. Your enthusiasm for the ukulele is what it is all about.

Thank you also to all those who have supported this blog. It’s great to have an audience of fellow Ukulele lovers.

Just for fun here are a couple of festive songs that are just made for the ukulele. The first is performed by the fabulous Memphis Ukulele Band. The chords can be found on the Doctor Uke website. The second, being typically Aussie, is just plain silly. For a link to the ukulele chords click here.

Syncopation is a technique that sounds fantastic on the ukulele and can really enhance your playing style. It is also good when you find instructions for this method that are easy to understand. The following video does this well.